The topic of relocation abroad for our programmers from ex-USSR countries, apparently, will always be relevant. Which is quite natural, because, as they say, the fish is looking for where it is deeper, and the person is looking for where it is better. The demand for high-quality professional coders in the world remains quite high, so there are quite a lot of relocation options for good programmers. And this is unlikely to change any time soon, despite the temporary lockdown of much of the globe due to the virus. In today's article, we will look at options for moving to three countries that offer really interesting and favorable conditions for qualified foreign programmers, have not been particularly affected by the COVID-19 epidemic and should open their borders in the near future.
Germany
Germany remains one of the leading economies of the European Union (and the world, for that matter), very successfully, compared to many neighbors and not only, copes with the coronavirus epidemic and, in general, has every reason to look to its economic future with optimism. This means that job offers in Germany for talented programmers should not run out in the near future, rather the opposite. How do companies from Germany lure programmers to them? Good (albeit not as high as in the US) salaries, comfortable working conditions, a good work-life balance and stability. Germany hosts the headquarters of a number of the world's largest companies, such as the Siemens Group, BMW, Deutsche Bank and many others. As for IT companies, primarily those that regularly hire programmers from Eastern Europe, here is just a small list of potential employers:
Outsourcing IT companies with offices in Germany.
ELEKS, Cyber Infrastructure Inc, S-PRO, SoftServe, Infopulse, Powercode, Instinctools, X1 Group, Right People Group and others.
In the context of the global coronavirus pandemic, temporary quarantine and its economic consequences, it would also be worth noting that Germany is very successful, compared to many other European countries, in fighting the epidemic - this country is often mentioned in the media as an example of an effective and efficient approach to problem that has led to relatively low mortality rates. So, according to the latest data, at the time of writing, the total number of infected in Germany is about 170 thousand with about 7.5 thousand deaths, which gives a mortality rate of 5%. Such indicators, together with a decrease in the number of new cases, suggest that the quarantine in Germany will be lifted soon enough.
Relocation conditions (visas and documents)
Today, most programmers who move to Germany for permanent work receive the so-called Blue Card. This is a variant of a work visa, which is issued under simplified conditions to highly skilled migrants. Most often, the Blue Card in Germany is received by programmers, as well as doctors and engineers of various specialties. In theory, the Blue Card system is used by all EU countries (with the exception of Britain, Ireland and Denmark), but in fact it is Germany that supports it the most, issuing more than 85% of all Blue Cards to date. The main requirement for obtaining a Blue Card is that the applicant has a higher education (diplomas from most universities with state accreditation are suitable). The second important requirement is related to the minimum wage: the annual salary of a foreigner who wants to receive a Blue Card, must be more than 55,200 euros per year. As for the time for paperwork and immediate relocation, according to the feedback of programmers already working in Germany, this process usually takes several months. First, the specialist receives a 3-month national visa, on which he arrives in the country and applies for a Blue Card. Its production takes about a month, it may take several more weeks to submit documents (due to the large number of people who want to receive this document, you will have to wait in an electronic queue). Another important factor: Blue Card recipients have the right to move with their spouse and minor children. At the same time, the spouse also receives the right to work, without restrictions on the specialty and employer (unlike the owner of the Blue Card,
Salary and working conditions
According to the authoritative German resource gehalt.de , the average salary of a developer in Germany ranges from €42.3 thousand to €59.9 thousand per year. The demand for programmers in Germany remains quite high, and companies are still quite actively looking for foreign programmers who are ready to move to this country. Most of the open vacancies are in Berlin, where the offices of IT companies and not only are most often based. As for working conditions, the majority of programmers working in Germany note a good balance between work and leisure, no overtime, as well as an open and tolerant attitude towards foreign employees. By the way, the highest demand in Germany for Java programmers - this language accounts formore than 27% of all vacancies. Javascript is in second place in terms of demand - 12.4%. The third is Python (12.1%).
Personal experience
“Moving is not as scary as some people like to talk about it. Naturally, Germany also has its drawbacks and problems, but it all depends on the desire and motivation of a person and on what is more important for him. If you have an IT education and work experience in a relevant specialty, you have a good chance of leaving,” a Ukrainian PHP programmer who left for Germany shares his experience in a detailed report. And here are some quotes from another good reportfrom a Russian-speaking programmer who came to Germany. “Adaptation in Germany promised to be difficult. I did not know German even at an elementary level, but nevertheless I chose Germany, and after almost four years of living here, I consider this the right decision.” “Shortly after moving there comes a feeling of loneliness and even helplessness, especially if you do not know the language of the host country. This is a serious blow: suddenly you realize that circumstances are stronger than you. It is during this period that many return home.” “Germany is a country with a lot of bureaucracy, and to move you need to collect a thick folder of papers. Be prepared for this and don't be under the illusion that it will be easy. In Berlin, it is very difficult to find housing. We can say that you do not choose housing, but it chooses you. The first months, like many others, I rented an apartment through the Airbnb service.
Finland
Finland is ranked among the world's happiest, safest and most stable countries every year and is famous for its equal opportunity policy, low corruption and one of the world's lowest levels of income inequality. Finland has a fairly developed and growing IT industry that really needs experienced developers. Most of the company's offices are located in the capital, Helsinki, but some firms are based in smaller cities such as Tampere, Oulu and Turku. Among the IT product companies based in Finland, the most famous are video game developers - Rovio Entertainment (creators of Angry Birds), Supercell (creators of Clash of Clans) and Remedy Studio (creators of the Max Payne series). Also in Finland there are a number of quite promising start-ups. Here are just a few: New Things Company, Columbia Road, Polar Squad, Tomorrow Tech, Adventure Club, Neverthink, Singa, Mount Kelvin, Reaktor Space Lab and many more.
Finland and COVID-19
From the point of view of the fight against the virus, Finland is coping well with this problem, showing low numbers: at the time of writing, just under 6,000 infected and about 270 deaths. All this allows experts to assert that Finland is successfully coping with the epidemic, and will soon be able to remove quarantine and open its borders.
Relocation conditions (visas and documents)
Finland has a number of options for obtaining a residence permit for expats, but among programmers, the residence permit for special expert program is the most common. Getting a residence permit is quite simple, all you need to do is find a job in a Finnish company with a salary of at least €3,000 per month, and have a diploma or some evidence of your past professional experience. According to the feedback of programmers who moved to Finland to work in a local company, the process of obtaining a residence permit usually goes quickly and without unnecessary bureaucratic delays.
Salary and working conditions
One of the relative shortcomings of Finland as a country for relocation can be considered the fact that programmers in this country do not earn that much - much less than in the US and somewhat less than in Western Europe. According to the dataPayScale, the average programmer in Finland earns just over €40,000 a year before taxes. Another disadvantage of Finland as a country for professional immigration can be considered the weather - a long and cold winter, frequent rainfall, short daylight hours most of the year and other features of the northern climate. Also, many of those who have moved note a certain closed nature of the local residents, which makes it more difficult for newcomers to integrate into society and find friends. Otherwise, Finnish companies are distinguished by a good balance between work and leisure, as well as the absence of overtime: by law, the working week in Finland lasts only 37.5 hours.
Personal experience
“Finland is a surprisingly easy country to immigrate as a programmer. As a rule, everyone goes to Helsinki - this is in fact the only large (by world, not Finnish standards) city in the country, and IT offices, and other skilled jobs, strongly gravitate towards it. Salaries there are higher than in the provinces, but also not at times, 20-30% maximum; but more importantly, in principle there is work in Helsinki, but in the provinces it is much more difficult, especially without knowledge of the Finnish language. Nevertheless, as my example shows, everything is not hopeless in the provinces either,” writesRussian programmer who moved to Finland. “Firstly, you should not expect very high salaries here, at least not in IT. Developer salaries are good, well above the national average, but far from huge. After taxes, they are comparable to ordinary Moscow or good St. Petersburg, with a higher (though not at times) cost of living. In some European countries there would be more, in the States - much more. The salary is quite enough for a more than decent life, but it is difficult to become rich here. Secondly, Finland is a village. Large and very comfortable, perfectly adapted for life, but the village. It would not be a strong stretch to say that the city is essentially one, Helsinki (with suburbs),” says the author of another good and voluminous report on the emigration of a programmer to Finland
New Zealand
New Zealand lures programmers and other highly skilled immigrants with beautiful nature, a high standard of living and fairly large salaries. The IT sector in New Zealand is actively developing - there are enough large IT companies and promising start-ups in the country. Among the most active employers are Transcribe Me, GeoOp, Vend, Uprise Digital, Cobra Labs, Bookme, Ecommistry, Xero and several others. In total, there are more than 500 IT startups in New Zealand with an average valuation of each company at $4.7 million. At the same time, in New Zealand, due to its remoteness and relative sparse population (the total population is less than 5 million people), there is much less fierce competition among specialists . Another advantage of this area is the measured and unhurried lifestyle of local residents, along with very comfortable working conditions.
New Zealand and COVID-19
New Zealand, like the other countries in this compilation, has been very successful in coping with the coronavirus epidemics. So successful that already now there are statements about victory in the fight against the pandemic and the gradual lifting of the lockdown.
Relocation conditions (visas and documents)
New Zealand issues work visas under a special system that takes into account the most demanded specialists and professions in the country - Skilled Migrant Category Visa. Most IT specialties are on the lists of those in demand, therefore, in most cases, in order to obtain a visa, it is enough to have a diploma and proof of work experience in the specified specialty for at least 3 years. And, of course, a job offer from a New Zealand company. With this, according to the reviews of those Russian-speaking programmers who chose the path of emigration to New Zealand, it is not always easy. Often, it is very difficult for programmers from abroad to find a job in New Zealand remotely, more often this requires you to already be there. One of the options for getting to New Zealand with a long-term (several months or more) visa is to study.
Salary and working conditions
According to the PayScale resource, the average salary of a developer in New Zealand is about $41,000 per year. Taxation is calculated on a progressive scale, which starts at 10% and goes up to 33%, depending on the amount of income. As for the working conditions, they are considered to be among the most comfortable and balanced in the world, in accordance with the general carelessness and unhurriedness. And one of the disadvantages of New Zealand from a financial point of view is the fact that the country has rather high prices - higher than in most other developed countries. Because of this, although New Zealand is in the world leaders in terms of wages, in terms of the ratio of income to expenses, this country is far from being the leader.
Personal experience
“In general, New Zealand has a lot of potential, but due to the remoteness and relative inactivity of many local companies, it has room to grow. It's just a matter of time. In connection with the tightening of professional immigration (people can only come to work on a work visa), there is an acute shortage of personnel. Therefore, with the right work experience (not always even very large), the chance of finding a well-paid job is very high,” shareswith his experience as a programmer and entrepreneur who moved to New Zealand from Ukraine. “This is an English-speaking country, of which there are not so many. Immigration rules are clearly defined and at the moment it is very easy to get here on a work visa - the country needs, in particular, IT personnel. Globally, there is a minimum of bureaucracy across the country - for example, to obtain a birth certificate for a child, you just need to fill out an online form, pay some money, and it will simply be sent by mail. Most transactions - bank, visas, telephone, bills - can be done either online or by phone. The people are mostly friendly. I like the service industry - for the most part, everyone is trying to solve your problem, whether it's a bank, a mobile operator or a government agency, ” saysanother Russian-speaking programmer who chose New Zealand for immigration.
Epilogue
What do you think about these relocation options? Share your opinions and personal experience in the comments. Also write if you liked this review and would like to read about other options for countries where a qualified programmer can go in 2020.
In today's article, we will look at options for moving to three countries that offer really interesting and favorable conditions for qualified foreign programmers, have not been particularly affected by the COVID-19 epidemic and should open their borders in the near future.
This means that job offers in Germany for talented programmers should not run out in the near future, rather the opposite. How do companies from Germany lure programmers to them? Good (albeit not as high as in the US) salaries, comfortable working conditions, a good work-life balance and stability. Germany hosts the headquarters of a number of the world's largest companies, such as the Siemens Group, BMW, Deutsche Bank and many others. As for IT companies, primarily those that regularly hire programmers from Eastern Europe, here is just a small list of potential employers:
Finland has a fairly developed and growing IT industry that really needs experienced developers. Most of the company's offices are located in the capital, Helsinki, but some firms are based in smaller cities such as Tampere, Oulu and Turku. Among the IT product companies based in Finland, the most famous are video game developers - Rovio Entertainment (creators of Angry Birds), Supercell (creators of Clash of Clans) and Remedy Studio (creators of the Max Payne series). Also in Finland there are a number of quite promising start-ups. Here are just a few: New Things Company, Columbia Road, Polar Squad, Tomorrow Tech, Adventure Club, Neverthink, Singa, Mount Kelvin, Reaktor Space Lab and many more.
The IT sector in New Zealand is actively developing - there are enough large IT companies and promising start-ups in the country. Among the most active employers are Transcribe Me, GeoOp, Vend, Uprise Digital, Cobra Labs, Bookme, Ecommistry, Xero and several others. In total, there are more than 500 IT startups in New Zealand with an average valuation of each company at $4.7 million. At the same time, in New Zealand, due to its remoteness and relative sparse population (the total population is less than 5 million people), there is much less fierce competition among specialists . Another advantage of this area is the measured and unhurried lifestyle of local residents, along with very comfortable working conditions.
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